The new Kia Carnival, right, gets vertical headlights and different grille.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Call the Kia Carnival whatever you like, just don’t call it a minivan – at least, not out loud around a Kia sales rep. The South Korean maker terms it a “Life Utility Vehicle” and claims it’s more SUV than van. After all, SUVs are much more popular. There’s even a dark-painted Black Edition now that’s supposed to appeal to a larger demographic of drivers. “Forget the soccer moms,” said Kia Canada’s national manager for product planning, David Zhang. “This is for the soccer dads.”
Zhang was introducing the updated Carnival, lightly redesigned on the outside after three years of production as a gas-powered vehicle, now to be sold with the option of a conventional hybrid powertrain. It’s a necessary next step for Kia, which must ensure its entire North American fleet meets ambitious government targets for overall emissions and fuel consumption. It also brings it into direct competition with the Toyota Sienna, which is the only other minivan sold with a conventional hybrid engine. The Chrysler Pacifica is offered as a plug-in hybrid, while the Chrysler Grand Caravan and Honda Odyssey are both powered solely by gas.
There’s no doubt that hybrid is the way to go for a vehicle as large as a minivan. Their engines must be powerful enough to carry and tow entire families and their possessions on road trips, while still spending most of their time shuttling people around town. The original 3.5-litre engine is still available for the Carnival, and it makes enough power for whatever the average family might need: 288 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, all driven through an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The new Carnival may look like an SUV from the front, but the side profile is all minivan.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The central cupholders are now larger, capable of holding the extra-large Starbucks Trenta cups.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The new hybrid, however, has a 1.6-litre engine – less than half its sibling’s size – that’s matched with a 54-kilowatt motor and a six-speed shift-by-wire transmission, good for 242 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque. Its fuel consumption is improved by an average of 35 per cent. You cannot drive solely on electric power, but the battery and motor are there to add performance to the small gas engine when needed, and improve its efficiency under normal driving.
There are plenty of other tweaks for the Carnival from this mid-cycle update: The nose and rear have been redesigned to look more like an SUV, while the cabin is now more driver-centric, with a wide, curved screen that’s clear and easy to use, and more driver’s assistance features. The hybrid offers clever adaptions of its technology, too. Different levels of regenerative braking are provided through paddles on the steering wheel, formerly found only in pure-electric vehicles, while the motor can kick in instantly to speed or slow the front wheels over bumps, smoothing the ride.
The top-end tester and its mid-range counterpart include a panoramic control screen, which is two 12.3-inch screens mounted beside each other in a gentle curve.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Of course, all this fancy tech costs more, but it’s not that much extra. The base model of the hybrid is $2,550 more than its equivalent LX+ gas-only trim, though there’s a cheaper gas trim available for another drop of $3,500 that doesn’t have the heated and powered seats, and the powered doors and liftgate. The same price difference holds true for the hybrid’s two other trims, all the way up to the $56,445 SX+ hybrid – which still undercuts the equivalent Toyota Sienna.
Tech specs
The hybrid version comes with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder and a 54-kilowatt electric motor.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid
- Base price/as tested: $46,545 / $56,445, plus $2,050 for freight and predelivery inspection, plus fees and taxes
- Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder, with 54-kilowatt electric motor
- Horsepower / torque (lb-ft): 242 / 270
- Transmission / drive: Six-speed / front-wheel drive
- Fuel consumption (litres per 100 kilometres): 6.9 city, 7.6 highway, 7.2 combined
- Alternatives: Toyota Sienna, Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Grand Caravan
Looks
Seen only from the front, you might assume the Carnival is a full-size SUV, with its stubby nose and vertical LED headlights. Seen from the rear, there’s little doubt the full-width tail lights and deep hatch are a minivan, and the side profile confirms it, where the sliders for the rear doors stand out against the bodywork. Why not just embrace it for what it is? After all, it’s one of the most practical and comfortable vehicles on the planet. As comedian Jim Gaffigan says, owning a minivan that can carry so many people proves the driver must be really good at sex.
Second-row captain's chairs on the new Carnival.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Interior
My tester was the top-of-the-line SX+ American model, which combines the regenerating paddle shifters and leather seating with an eight-passenger configuration. In Canada, the high-end hybrid comes only with seven-passenger seating: two more comfortable captain’s chairs in the second row instead of a practical (and easily removable) middle seat. We get the eight seats in the base and mid-range trim models.
The top-end tester and its mid-range counterpart include a panoramic control screen, which is two 12.3-inch screens mounted beside each other in a gentle curve. The base model has two similar-sized screens, not curved but flat and split at a gentle angle. The curve looks nice, but it’s not worth the extra money.
The shift-by-wire transmission in the hybrid now uses a dial controller instead of a lever, which is tucked close to flush against the centre console and nicely out of mind. Perhaps most important for some owners, though, the central cupholders are now larger, capable of holding the extra-large Starbucks Trenta cups that are sold for iced tea and coffee. The bottle holders in the doors are comparatively small, however. You win some, you lose some.
Performance
The hybrid version makes 242 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
There’s nothing to write home about, so I won’t. Overtaking is a relatively leisurely activity. Step on the throttle and the van picks up steam as you might expect, but it takes a while. The shift-by-wire dial controller means it’s not so quick to just drop a gear, though Sport mode will hold lower gears for a little longer. It’s not much different in the gas-only edition.
There’s little wallowing around corners and the Carnival was pleasant enough to steer through the California curves here. Don’t let the Sport term fool you – this is still a minivan. It’s not about canyon carving but cruising and shuttling, and it does those comfortably.
Technology
Storage space is ample even with the third row up.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
There is 4,110 litres of space when the third row is folded flat and the second row pushed forward.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Every revision of a vehicle includes new driver’s assistance features that used to be optional and costly but have become standard, and the Carnival is no different. Active cruise control, active blind-spot warning, lane-keeping assistance – they’re all standard on all trims. Now, though, the Carnival will move itself to the side, within the lane, if another vehicle in the lane alongside drifts over too close; it will also move itself away if an approaching vehicle crosses into its lane.
The hybrid will also use the instant response of its electric motor to help keep the van stable during evasive manoeuvering, by braking or accelerating the front wheels as needed. Over all, there’s a lot of up-to-date safety technology that’s standard in all trims, as it should be.
Cargo
There’s nothing to match the versatility and all-out space of a minivan, and the Carnival is no exception. There’s 1,139 litres of luggage room in the recessed cargo area behind the third row, and 4,110 litres when the third row is folded flat and the second row pushed forward. The second row will not fold flat into the floor like Chrysler’s Stow’N’Go, but there are no hybrid minivans that will do that.
The verdict
The Kia Carnival is a comfortable and capable minivan – sorry, Life Utility Vehicle – that undercuts the cost of its main competition by at least a couple of thousand dollars and will become available early in 2025. It doesn’t offer all-wheel drive (like the Sienna and Pacifica) and nor is it a plug-in hybrid (like the front-wheel-drive Pacifica), but its new hybrid engine is bound to appeal to drivers who want practical space in a more energy-efficient vehicle.
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
Shopping for a new car? Check out the new Globe Drive Build and Price Tool to see the latest discounts, rebates and rates on new cars, trucks and SUVs. Click here to get your price.